December 9, 2015 AT 5:28 pm

NEW PRODUCTS – USB to 2.1mm DC Booster Cable – 9V / 12V

These cables are kinda fascinating – they have an integrated boost converter, so you can plug them into any USB port (from a computer, battery pack, etc) and they will give you a higher DC voltage! It’s a handy way to power 9V and 12V powered devices with a 2.1mm DC barrel jack from a USB port. If you just need a passthough cable, here’s one for 5VDC.

These are rated at 500mA output, but you can go a little higher, we pulled 700mA and we got a little voltage droop but it worked fine. Probably best not to draw 700mA continuously though!

Here’s our measurements for various current draws when we set our bench supply to provide a steady 5V voltage

50mA (9.0V output), 100mA, 90% efficiency

100ma (8.95), 205mA in, 87% efficiency

200ma (8.9V): 410mA in, 86% efficiency

300ma (8.8V): 620mA in, 85% efficiency

500ma (8.8V): 1060mA in, 83% efficiency

700ma (8.8V): 1550mA in, 80% efficiency

So, overall there’s a 90% efficiency at low current draw that drops do about 80% at high current use. There’s also a 3 mA quiescent current. Note that often times the USB port voltage can droop too, and in addition you may have power losses with any thin or low quality cables with high resistivity!

Here’s our measurements for various current draws when we set our bench supply to provide a steady 5V voltage

50mA (12.4V output), 150mA, 83% efficiency

100ma (12.4V), 290mA in, 86% efficiency

200ma (12.3V): 570mA in, 86% efficiency

300ma (12.2V): 870mA in, 84% efficiency

500ma (12.1V): 1500mA in, 81% efficiency

700ma (11.4V): 2140mA in, 75% efficiency

So, overall there’s a 85% efficiency at low current draw that drops do about 80% at high current use. There’s also a 3 mA quiescent current. Note that often times the USB port voltage can droop too, and in addition you may have power losses with any thin or low quality cables with high resistivity!